Tag Archives: running

It’s that time of year! The time to sign up for a lottery in hopes of being able to do my favorite run.I don’t like that it now has a lottery system but now that running is the new fad it can’t be helped. The popularity of this run has grown so much over the years and why not, it is a fun course.

Now it’s time to start training even though the weather isn’t cooperating. For a few weeks I’ll be on the treadmill logging miles but then come mid to late February, I’ll be back outside.

I’ve had a few people ask for tips on how to train for a long run or even how many miles I log a week. When I tell them they are often shocked at how much I run. Below is a link to the training schedule I used when coming back from my injury a few years ago. It’s formatted to be imported into Outlook and Google Calendar or viewing in Excel or any other spreadsheet program you may use. Sorry Apple users, no idea how to help you.

If you look at the miles you may notices it’s a bit short for where I am but I’m working on speed this year so I’m pulling back and increasing my effort. You should run at your own pace if you plan to follow my regimen. Also don’t be afraid to change up the mileage to fit your abilities but keep the ratios the same.

Due to popular demand, the race organizers have implemented a lottery system to determine entrants. Last year, the race sold out in 5 hours! Within those 5 hours, there were problems accessing the website and I almost waited until after work to register. If I did, I wouldn’t have got in.

Enough of last year, this year I will be training without a group so I will be self motivated. It will be a true test of will to set a PR. This year I will beat 1:45:40!

Two words that pretty much sum up every bad event in live. At least it does if you are on the other side of the event or one of those glass half full people. Me, I know how to look at a glass. Here’s a tip next time someone pulls that line on you. What was the previous state of the glass when it reached the halfway point? Was it in the act of filling or empting? If filling then half full, if empting half empty. Pretty simple right?

Now let’s get back to shit, because it does happen, a lot, as Forest just told us. If you’ve followed my previous attempts at challenges you know that shit happened on more than one occasion. Broken toe, broken foot, shin splints and most recently pulmonary emboli.

I never disclosed via this blog but back in August I was diagnosed with pulmonary emboli. If you are up on your Latin, you noticed that was plural meaning more than one. Specifically both lungs. This meant a 5 day stay in the hospital and a cease and desist on most of my exercise related activities. In a nutshell, I was devastated. From what the doctor told me, if I wasn’t in such good shape (i.e. a runner) it would’ve been much much worse.

I noticed a decline shortly after I completed the Broad Street Run. Suddenly it became more difficult to run. I thought it was just the summer air influencing my asthma so I thought I would just soldier through it. By mid July I went from running miles without stopping to running only a 1/8th of a mile and being short of breath and in pain which would quickly go away within a few minutes.

Come August, I was literally bend over in pain 10 minutes into a run. My running partner had been telling me for weeks I should see a doctor and seeing how I was bent over I finally agreed. I went to the doctor the very next day and described my symptoms; sudden shortness of breath when climbing stairs, drastic reduction in my mileage and pain in my chest. An EKG later and I was ordered to go to the emergency room.

From there I had a few tests to determine what exactly was going on. At this point I had no diagnosis but the fear was that it was a heart issue. At about 10:30 PM that evening I received my proper diagnosis and started treatment.

Now I’m nearing the end of my treatment and starting to put the pieces back together. I’ve been running since September but not as much as I was before. Now it’s time to ramp up. This year I’ve decided that I won’t create challenges like I’ve done in the past. I’m going to rebuild, restructure and get rid of the impurities. I’m forging a new iron will. As always it’s going to be an uphill battle and I’m up for it.

It’s the night before and I’m feeling great! Three months of training all come down to the results of tomorrow. I went through my results from the last couple and they are as follows:

Year

Finish

Avg. Pace

2006

2:03:11

12:19

2007

1:45:40

10:33

2008

Injured

N/A

2009

1:48:12

10:49

2010

1:58:11

11:49

2011

Injured

N/A

A little background on the results, my first organized run was a 5K in 2004 at Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run (now renamed ING Distance Run). I finished in 32:51. The following year I decided to step it up to the full half marathon for the run. That one I finished in 3:05:56 because I pulled a muscle around mile 9 and I had to walk the the rest of the way. The reason was because I didn’t train properly. The next run I did was the Broad Street Run in 2006.

As you can see, my times varied widely over the years. All due to training. This year I took the route of structured training with a group to improve my abilities. Proper hydration, hill training, speed work and pace were the focus of our training. And now in the morning I will get to see the how well that training pays off. My prediction is a personal record.

To help you understand how I’m feeling I’m going to have to set a tone. I’m going to be name dropping like crazy to illustrate my point. To do that the best you will need to start the song below prior to continuing to read.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5tc0Vdgo_Q&rel=0]

Imagine it’s 6:30 am, 43 degrees out side. You had a terrible run the night before but today you’re feeling good. You grab gear to go run and get your non-standard ear buds that you bought from MeritLine.com

You have a funny feeling in your hip early on but that isn’t stopping you so you stop and stretch for 10-20 seconds. Later on this song comes on. You look down at your Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Watch to check your progress.

It’s mile 2 and your are about to reach a milestone. You’re almost at the 10 minute mile mark on your run. Maybe even faster Kanye is revving up to start his first inspirational bars and suddenly you are interrupted but Russian blaring in your ears!!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW0wCvlu9GM&w=448&h=252&hd=1]

WTF? It’s from your lessons you’ve been taking so it’s not something that’s too far out of the ordinary. You reach into your Nathan Hip Pack because running is the only thing you can do where it’s cool to wear a hip pack.

You stop for a second because the moment is spoiled by the random sound coming out of your phone. Your run has now been slowed to a walk due to the bewilderment. As you pull out your phone, the music kicks back in…hhhmmm. that was weird. Maybe Win Amp had a glitch but the music is back, no biggie.

You regain your tempo when suddenly the song changes again. Son of a… Your rhythm is broken yet again. This is crazy. You slow to a walk once again then reach for your phone. The thought crosses your mind that you may be pressing the controls on your HTC headphones cord so you check.

Oh right, I’m not using my usual headphones, I’m using the backups which don’t feature the controls. Time to think quickly. Let’s see, the buttons on the headphones send an electronic pulse down to the phone which the phone receives and interprets as a command which causes the phone to control the software. Now I know that sounds really advanced for 6:30 am but if you’ve ever run you know that your mind is clear and active once you get into it. Especially at 2 miles.

Anyway, you looks at the connector to insure it’s plugged in all the way.

Of course it is, damn. Maybe if you wiggle it something will happen. That sounds logical because it’s in your hip pack and has a little movement to it. Wiggle…wiggle…song change. Ah ha!!! Wait, that could’ve been a fluke. Wiggle…wiggle..song change. Yes, I figured it out!!! But wait a minute, wasn’t I trying to do something? Oh right, I was about to set a PBR. I look down at my watch again and see that I’m now off of my record. Shit. Have to try to pick it up and get back on pace but it’s too late. I finish my run and realize that I’m 2 minutes off!

If you know anything about running or distance/time ratios you know that 2 minutes is huge. I mean hhhuuuuuuugggeeeee.

In my head I know that 2 minutes was caused by the confusion with the music but there are no asterisk in my book. I go by the official record and the official record is my watch. It says I’m off so I’m off. Next time I will use my usual headphones or just ignore the music and keep going.

First I have to get this out of the way…I haven’t given up on this site. I’ve just been posting on my twitter account and not here but I won’t do that any more.

Second to bring you up too speed quickly, I’ve joined a running group to train for the upcoming Broad Street Run. I have a schedule of 4 runs a week with 2 of them being a group run on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Now to the topic at hand. Tonight out my run I short group run which is 6 miles. This run has been hit or miss for various reasons but tonight it was because I forgot to use my inhaler prior to my run. I don’t always have to use it but when the weather shifts as it has in the past couple days I have trouble with my allergies and asthma.

Lesson re-learned, always listen to your body and know how it behaves in certain conditions. It could be the difference between a failed run and a good run.

Just signed up for the Broad Street Run here in Philly. Registration just opened on Saturday and already it’s half full!

I know it’s early to talk about speed but this will be the event to test my speed. I’ve participated many times before and never really went for speed but this time I will be. My goal is to come in under 1:30. The shortest time I’ve had is 1:48:48 so I have a ways to go but I also have the time to do it. Here’s wishing me luck in a few months!